The first time we tried living with my parents it didn’t work. We’ve always been very close, emotionally and geographically, but even as a temporary arrangement during a renovation we soon realised we each needed our own space. We ended up in a caravan in the garden, says Natalie, 36.
Yet when Andy, 42, and I decided to move from Market Drayton in Shropshire to France my parents, Pam, 70, and Geoff, 81, wanted to come too. Both were very active; my mother was newly retired from life as a pharmacist. They were looking to stay involved with their grandchildren — aged two and four at the time. My grandmother had just died at 96, so the timing allowed them to make the move too
